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Summary

Three excavated and mutilated cairns have now merged into a single long and rather amorphous 'egg-shaped' stony mound of 13 metres by up to 7 metres and 0.6m high. A number of small pits are visible in the disturbed top. The largest of the three cairns (Grinsells No. 29), at the north-west end of the mound, is still vaguely traceable as a 7 metres diameter, 0.7 metres high stony mound; the other two cairns cannot now be individually identified.

Location

Protected Status

• Scheduled Monument 1007429: Cairn 410m south-west of White Tor summit
• SHINE: Earthworks of a Bronze Age barrow, one of a group of seven on the southern slope of White Tor

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX57NW12
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 439756
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX57NW/60
• Old SAM Ref: 20390

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• CAIRN (Constructed, Early Neolithic to Late Bronze Age - 4000 BC (Between) to 701 BC (Between))

Full description

Baring Gould, S., 1899, Sixth Report of the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, 148, 1525 map (Article in Serial). SDV344950.

Three cairns depicted as one feature and described as "ruined" are shown west of the reave (SX 57 NW 14) on Andersons small scale map.
They were three of the seven barrows excavated on the south slope of White Tor and contained shallow depressions or pits with ashes, charcoal and in some cases flint flakes. The seven varied from 12 to 32 feet in diameter, none had been rifled and some were undisturbed.

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Oval 'Cairn' shown on early 20th century map.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1950/1978, SX57NW12 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV226264.

(15/07/1950) Elongated cairn in hummocky conditions. Measures 12.5m by 4.5m, 0.6m high. Three ruined cairns west of the reave. An elongated grass covered cairn 20 feet by 40 feet by 2 feet high.
SX 5402 7831. Cairn (NR).
(13/10/1978) On the lower south-facing slopes of White Tor at SX 54027831 is an elongated mound of irregular shape which is probably a ruined cairn. It appears as a mound of turf-covered stones, measuring 12.0m x 6.5m and 0.7m in height. There are no other cairns in the immediate vicinity. Surveyed at 1:10 000 on P.F.D.
Grinsell reports 2 cairns here: one at SX 54027832, diameter 6.5m, height 0.3m, and the 'hummocky mound' or possibly two immediately to the west at SX 54007832. This does not tally with OSA.

National Monument Record, 1977, SX5478, 1/225 (Aerial Photograph). SDV228382.

Grinsell, L. V., 1978, Dartmoor Barrows, 160 (Article in Serial). SDV273224.

(08/05/1974) A cairn elongated north-south, possibly two cairns joined. Of small diameter.
SX 5402 7832. A cairn (Grinsell No 29) 6.5m in diameter and 0.3m in height on a hillslope position.
SX 5400 7832. A cairn, west of 29, elongated north-south, possibly two cairns joined (Grinsell numbers 29a, 29b). Diameter described as 'small'.
These cairns are the 'three ruined cairns' shown on the TDA map.

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, 1985, Aerial Photograph Project (Dartmoor) - Dartmoor Pre-NMP (Cartographic). SDV319854.

Recorded?.

Royal Commission for the Historical Monuments of England, 1987-1993, Duchy Farms Project Survey Visit (Report - Survey). SDV350839.

(17/07/1991) SX 5402 7831. The three excavated and mutilated cairns have now merged into a single long and rather amorphous "egg-shaped" stony mound. It measures 13m in length, 7m at its widest and is, on average, 0.6m in height. A number of small pits are visible in the disturbed top. The largest of the three cairns (Grinsells No29), at the NW end of the mound, is still vaguely traceable as a 7m diameter, 0.7m high stony mound; the other two cairns cannot now be individually identified.

Gerrard, S., 1990-2002, Monument Protection Programme. Archaeological Item Dataset. (Report - Survey). SDV277946.

(1992) Cairn forming part of widely dispersed group of at least 14. Cairn mound measures 15m long by 6m wide and stands up to 1m high. A shallow hollow in the northern end of the mound measures 3m long by 1.5m wide and 0.15m deep and at the southern end another hollow measuring 1.5m long by 1m wide and 0.2m deep has been identified. These hollows are probably the result of a partial excavation carried out by the Dartmoor exploration committee in 1899. This work revealed a pit containing ashes and charcoal.
Grinsell has suggested that this cairn is two joined mounds, but without excavation this hypothesis cannot be tested. Two other doubtful mounds have been identified in close proximity to this cairn. These may be the remnants of two further cairns excavated by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee, though there is not sufficient visible evidence to confirm this identification.

Butler, J., 1991, Dartmoor Atlas of Antiquities: Volume Two - The North, 96, 241, Map 31, Site 21 (Monograph). SDV219155.

White Tor S.S.W. '1' cairn at SX54007830 of 13.0 metres long by 5.7 metres wide. An elongated cairn is one of three cairns were excavated in 1898. The other two at SX54027831 and SX53997828 are doubtful.

Cartographic Engineering, 2006, Dartmoor 2006 1:1250 Aerial Photography (digital) (Aerial Photograph). SDV345590.

Visible on aerial photograph. Possibly showing a row of three pits.

Historic England, 2022, National Heritage List for England, 1007429 (National Heritage List for England). SDV364675.

This monument includes a cairn situated on a gentle south-facing slope overlooking the valley of the Colly Brook. The cairn mound measures 15 metres long by 6 metres wide and stands up to 1 metre high. A shallow hollow in both the northern and southern ends of the mound is probably the result of a partial excavation carried out by the Dartmoor Exploration Committee in 1899. This work revealed a pit containing ashes and charcoal. This cairn forms part of a widely dispersed group of at least fourteen cairns on the southern and eastern slopes of White Tor.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV8421 - Excavation of cairn south-west of White Tor
• EDV8423 - Duchy Farms Project

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